5 Most Popular Articles on Lowell’s First Look for April 2025

Another month is gone, and we are rapidly approaching the mid-point of 2025. How did that happen?

It’s time to review the top articles from last month, and this is your reminder that this is not a news article but a recap and reflection on last month’s stories. You may find opinions here, and those opinions are mine and mine alone. If you aren’t interested in what I think about the top news stories, this is your cue to only read the headlines and scroll past the rest.

With all that in mind, here are the most popular stories from April 2025, based on website views.

5. 5 Most Popular Articles on Lowell’s First Look for March 2025

This article likely made the top five last month because it included commentary on the continued controversy surrounding certain books in the Lowell High School library. These books have been labeled “porn” by some, but they are not.

If they are porn, then so are the movies “Good Will Hunting,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Tropic Thunder,” “The Hangover,” and “Titanic,” which all have sexual content on par with what is being called “porn” in the library. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the media that we – as a society – have deemed acceptable for older teens to consume.

Would I let my teens watch all these movies? No.

Would I let my teens read all the “suggested for seniors” books in the Lowell High School library? No.

Does that make these movies and books porn? No.

I don’t understand the outrage. The books are not flying off the shelves into the hands of unsuspecting students. As a parent, I am infinitely more concerned about the language and conversations my children hear in the halls than about the possibility that they will find questionable content in a book. They all learned the f-word on the bus, not in the library.

Some argue that Lowell Area Schools needs to be more transparent about what is in the library, to which I ask: how?

Maybe people don’t understand how good they have it at LAS. My children attend private schools where there is no online library catalog for me to browse, no way for me to see what my children checked out. When my oldest child came home with “Rabbit, Run” during her freshman year – back in 2013 – I had to search the internet for a synopsis before sending it back with a note that said, “nope, not for my child.” In fact, two of the books in the LAS library which have outraged some people were required reading at my older children’s private high school. (Those books didn’t scar them or turn them into deviants, by the way.)

Anyway, while I have you here, I want to comment on two additional matters pertaining to the library. First is the viral video that I see our neighbor Stefanie Boone shared again on social media in recent weeks. This is the video that she took during a tour of the LHS library and entitled “Which way to the porn section?” even though she doesn’t actually say that in the video and there is no porn in the library.

If you think that video is proof that the librarian is hiding something, humor me for a moment with a thought exercise.

Imagine you have a neighbor who doesn’t like you. He complains about you regularly to the HOA and tells all his friends that you’re poisoning his dog. You’re not sure why he believes this since he has never spoken to you. He starts taking photos of your house and yard and posting them online. Then, he sues you, saying you planted a tree on his property among other things.

One day, he shows up at your door with his phone out, recording you.

“Where is your lot line,” he asks.

You freeze. This is so weird and random. What do you say to this person who has never spoken to you before and who is suing you for hundreds of thousands of dollars?

“Surely, you must know. This is a very easy question,” he says.

Later, you discover that your neighbor posted that video online as proof that you are being dishonest.

Now, think about that in context of the video showing the LAS librarian pausing when a parent – a parent who has never spoken to her before and is suing her personally – asks her out of the blue where to find the “adult books” in the library. Given the circumstances, I don’t think the librarian’s response is odd.

The other thing I’d like to address is the idea that Mrs. Boone’s comments and online behavior is harmless. To discuss that, let’s look at the following example:

Here we have a post Mrs. Boone made to the Grassroots Army Facebook group about the books in a LHS teacher’s classroom. This is a group founded by Garrett Soldano who made a name for himself by protesting the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Now, if you think Mrs. Boone doesn’t engage in bullying tactics, I ask you to consider why she has posted this to a statewide group. The post is purportedly to warn other parents who have children in the classroom. But this is a statewide group so most people aren’t from Lowell, and Mrs. Boone already posted it to her “blogger” page where she would be more likely to reach other LAS parents.

So why post it on the Grassroots Army page as well?

Her posts often seem intended to rile up the masses, and the masses are most happy to comply – with replies to this post including the teacher’s name and photo along with a torrent of disparaging remarks.

Now, you might object and say that Mrs. Boone cannot control the comments others make. My response is that after five years of posting online about the school, Mrs. Boone must know exactly what type of response she will get. It’s like saying that a fire is not someone’s fault when all they did was light a match over gasoline.

But let’s zoom out for a moment and look at the big picture here.

This teacher seems to be doing exactly what Mrs. Boone has been advocating for – limiting mature books to older students and keeping parents in the loop. The teacher sent an email saying, hey, I previously taught upperclassmen and an AP course – that’s a college-level course if you aren’t familiar with the term – and so freshmen can’t access my classroom library without parental permission.

Mrs. Boone asked what books were in the classroom library, which is a reasonable request, and the teacher punted that request to the principal.

If this had been any other parent, my guess is the teacher would have sent a list or a photo or invited the parent to the classroom. But this is Mrs. Boone – someone who is suing the school district and who has a long history of posting teacher names and photos online. I would probably send her request to the principal too.

We don’t actually know how the principal responded since Mrs. Boone only posted the first paragraph of his email to her online. Maybe he gave her options to get information about the classroom library, maybe not.

However, Mrs. Boone did eventually get photos of the classroom library, posted them online and cue the “groomer and pedo” comments. In response to one comment, Mrs. Boone agreed that she could see no other explanation for the books except that school staff were, in fact, groomers.

So to be clear: Mrs. Boone apparently believes that by providing students access to a complex novel about Nigerian history, the teacher is trying to have sex with her students or gain their trust so she can pimp them out to others? Because that’s what grooming is.

Do you understand how revolting and ugly these accusations are? It would be laughable if we weren’t talking about real people with real emotions and lives here.

Some people – like Alpine Township Trustee Robert Reminga who replies to almost all Mrs. Boone’s posts – seems to think it’s true. But do you? Because if you actually believe LAS staff are “groomers and pedos,” you should be talking to the police. And I sure hope you have more evidence than “Half of a Yellow Sun” sitting on a bookshelf in a classroom.

And what gets me is that all this outrage is being stirred up by a woman who proudly posted a photo of her child wearing a sweater that reference this — and that link is NSFW (not suitable for work or kids), folks.

It makes me wonder, Mrs. Boone, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” (Mt 7:3)

4. Lowell United Methodist Church Answers the Call

Ok, let’s move on to happier news. Coming in No. 4 for April was this story about the Lowell United Methodist Church raising enough money to cover all the flooring for Flat River Outreach Ministries affordable housing project.

Cliff Yankovich, one of LFL’s newest contributors, first heard about the fundraising effort and sent an email asking if I’d like him to write an article about it. Heck yeah, I’d like an article about that. There is so much unpleasantness in the world right now that we need all the good news we can get.

3. Arrowhead Installing Indoor Fun-for-Everyone Golf Entertainment Center

If you love golf, there will soon be a Topgolf-type experience at Arrowhead Golf Course in Vergennes Township. The business is adding a building with bays that will allow people to practice their swings and enjoy a driving range in all sorts of weather. This addition has been a long time coming and was almost derailed by zoning issues back in 2022.

2. Main Street D&T Offers Same Relaxed Atmosphere, Serious Sandwiches, More Variety

This is the second month in a row that Main Street D&T made the top five list. In March, LFL’s Michelle Smith covered the changeover from Main Street BBQ to Main Street D&T. Then, last month, she went back to try the new food.

Her verdict? Delicious sandwiches and giant portions. I went with my family later in the month and second her take on the food. Everything tasted great and most of us wrapped up half our sandwiches to finish later. I think having everyone’s sandwich served in an individual basket rather than on a tray would be a nice touch, but the presentation didn’t affect the taste, which was a 5 out of 5 for us.

1. Lowell Area Schools Announces End of Wrestling Program

The No. 1 article for April is always – without fail – our April Fool’s Day article. Some people think they are lame, but they’re fun to write so we’ll keep on doing them.

Sometimes, I know what our April Fool’s article will be well in advance, but it took a while to come up with this year’s topic. Then, the wrestling team won their 12th state championship, and everything fell into place. Of course, there is no way LAS would ever get rid of the wrestling program…although I do hear that water polo is getting popular.